Page 24 - AeM_Nov_2017

BEST PRACTICES & STRATEGIES

The basics for successful email marketing

The newsletter is still the marketing tool with the best  Use the text version in email marketing in addition to
cost-benefit factor. No wonder then that email market- the HTML version.
ing remains one of the most popular digital marketing
methods. Company newsletters clearly offer many op-  Be aware that emails are increasingly being con-
tions for customer loyalty and increased sales, if a sumed on mobile devices.
clear strategy is in place that considers unique KPIs.  Use at least one call-to-action per newsletter.

Besides legal regulations, there are a lot of simple but  Remember the legal restrictions, such as e.g. un-
very important rules of etiquette for this instrument that subscribing from the newsletter.
are decisive if you make it or break it. And you should  Increase the awareness of your own newsletter.
keep in mind the following to support your sales and
marketing activities:  Be experimental and make use of A / B tests.
The mission critical points in email marketing are differ-
 Avoid "silos" by perceiving email marketing as a ent. On one hand, the characteristics of an email and its
process and replacing Excel with a CRM system.
multiple uses as well as the legal restrictions must be
 Use specialized email marketing tools that comply observed. On the other hand, professional email mar-
with data protection and can be linked to CRM for keting requires interlinked processes for customer loyal-
data exchange using open interfaces (APIs). ty and increased sales within the company.

 Link the email marketing tool to your CRM, as this Obstacles to the success in email marketing therefore
avoids duplicate data and unnecessary costs.
seem to be:
 Use content multiple times as part of the content 1. A lack of strategy and no or too little use of email
marketing strategy. marketing in marketing and sales;
2. Not to be keen to experiment and optimize the news-
 Use the more accurate personas to personalize
your newsletter, instead of using the (rough) target letter (design, subject, content, rhythm);
group. 3. Lack of time or strategy to win new subscribers;
4. No use of tools to make work easier in email market-
 Commit yourself to your customers and build trust ing or lack of integration with CRM;
by regularly publishing your newsletter. Therefore, 5. No collection of data or data gained gets ignored;
make sure that there is a person responsible for 6. Missing theme and editorial plan for email marketing.
email marketing in your company, who can imple-
ment the strategy for your email marketing. Professional email marketing allows to address pro-
 Analyze the data provided by the email marketing spects targeted and to measure activities. As a result,
tool used to make the email marketing more suc- the success of email marketing can quickly be demon-
cessful. strated when the right tools are used and processes are
optimized properly. Constant creation of hypotheses,
 Invest in the subject line of every email sent, since and checking of them through A / B testing, promotes
it determines the opening rate. the success of your email marketing. ◊
24 November 2017 - Email Marketing & Lead Management